wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bought”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “bought”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Frequently Bought Together Product For WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 2215 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WPC Frequently Bought Together for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (84) wp.org #1 2

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #7 ↑6 5 too low 3

Upsell Funnel Builder for WooCommerce – Create Upsells, Cross-Sells, Order Bumps, Frequently Bought, and Popups. 2K+ · 4.7★ (116) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too low 5

ACF: Better Search 40K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #9 4 too low 6

WPC Product Bundles for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (220) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #10 ↓3 3 too low 8

Product Labels, Quick View, Buy Now, Pre-Orders, Frequently Bought Together & More for WooCommerce – Merchant 9K+ · 4.2★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #3 5 too high 9

YITH Frequently Bought Together for WooCommerce 7K+ · 3.1★ (12) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #2 7 too high 10

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #23 13 too low 11

Leo Product Recommendations: Upsell Popup, Frequently Bought Together & Cart Drawer for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #6 5 too high 12

FunnelKit – Funnel Builder Plugin for WooCommerce Checkout 30K+ · 5.0★ (1028) wp.org #24 12 too low 13

Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #13 ↓2 14

UpsellWP – Upsell and Related Products Offers for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (149) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15

Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #12 3 too high 16

WPC Composite Products for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.6★ (76) wp.org #22 5 too low 18

WPC Grouped Product for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #18 19

WPC AJAX Add to Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too high 20

WPC Name Your Price for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.4★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #19 1 too high 21

WPC Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too high 22

Frequently Bought Together Product For WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #4 18 too high 23

Mailster for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.8★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too high 24

CCM19 Integration 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.